Vegetarian food budgeting ANY TIPS?

If she has a windowsill in her dorm room and is allowed some plants - fresh herbs and bean sprouts are always a welcome addition (start with some easy stuff - mung bean sprouts and things like rosemary and mint which are VERY hard to kill ) Dried beans are much cheaper, last forever and are less likely to be nicked by anyone as you need to remember to put them in to soak before hand - my brother told me they got into the habit of cooking up a batch once a week and then using the beans throughout the week in various meals. You can always throw cooked beans into soup, casseroles, tortillas, baked beans on toast or even a stir fry!

I grew up veggie and we eat veggie three nights a week at least and my favourite vegetarian cookbook is Laurel's Kitchen, there is also a Laurel's Bread Book as well. I got mine through the local bookstore but it is also available on amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/089815166X/qid=1141823478/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl/202-8010999-0295030 at the back it has very useful charts measuring how much of what vits/minerals etc. you are getting from the ingredients. Another favourite for cheap meals (but it isn't veg all the way through so might be more use to you) is The More with less cookbook - gives my favourite recipes for quick breads, pancakes etc.

My brother and oh used to love the hampers I'd send up to uni for them, full of cous cous, rice, flour, dried beans etc. Easy for me and I figured a lot more use than some other presents I could have bought <G>

I'm not that fond of quorn but we do use it occasionally - usually in something fairly spicy as it is so bland, I've tried TVP and similar fake meats but I'd rather not bother (if only because we do eat meat). Veggies, grains, beans, fruits have so many different textures, flavours and colours that you can create with - and it can be completely healthy!

I'm a veggie and take lunch into uni every day, but not often sandwiches as living in a shared house means there's not often bread! Leftovers from the night before are always good, especially from pasta dishes, even better if there's a microwave around but still good if not. I also take couscous fairly often as it's quicker than making a sandwich, i just pour boiling water from making my morning cuppa over it in a tupperware pot and shoving it in my bag, usually with a separate box of salad (all my meals come with a large side helping of salad!) Also crispbreads with soft cheese or marmite make a change from sandwiches, or quiche and salad, soup in a flask, homemade pies/tarts (try delia's roasted tomato, goats cheese and thyme tart, which is really good cold and v easy to make), rice/pasta salad, homemade pizzas etc etc.
Then when I get back from uni, I normally end up eating pasta and sauce or curry and rice. I don't really like quorn, but I do use a lot of tofu, not really sure how I'm supposed to cook it, but I just chop it up and use it where chicken would be used. Or add a tin of beans to whatever I'm making. I'm lucky, I have a really nice green grocers just round the corner so I buy lots of fresh veg and chuck it all into a curry.
I think in a lot of ways being veggie is easier at uni, all my housemates have managed to poison themselves at least once (maybe jsut cos they're all blokes whose mummy cooked for them at home) whereas touch wood I've never made myself ill
Hope this gives you some ideas
midget

Re lunches - the lentil patties and chickpea burgers make great lunch box food. Will post the recipes later - both are really easy!

Lady_k - perhaps your daughter's ill feeling is from her change in diet? My hubby's been a veggie for 20+ years and eldest daughter has been for 10 years and as a family we eat mainly veggie meals. If I use loads of veggies/pulses (beans etc) I can feel very bloated but this passes quite naturally. ( )

When daughter was at uni she did live off pasta dishes as they were the cheapest and quickest to make. Her health did not deteriorate as I thought it might and she now is very healthy and fit and eats very very well. (BTW as a student she had more bad days thru the cheap uni bar drinks than her food! LOL) Quorn is mushroom based so there should be nothing in it to upset her, but it just might be 'different' to her system.

Good luck in her future, there are loads of books and internet help (as well as on here) and I'm sure she will do very well.

My eldest daughter is vegetarian. I can recommend the Caz Clarke veggie cookbook- all of her student cookbooks are quite good for vegetarians.

I try to keep several home made veggie "ready meals" in the freezer. Over the years I've collected lots of individual oven proof dishes from jumble sales and charity shops. A week or so before DD comes home for the holidays I have a big cooking session. I make a large batch of ratatouille with courgettes, onions, tomatoes and peppers. Then I make several veggie lasagnes or pancakes filled with ratatouille topped with cheese sauce. I also mix the ratatouille with tinned chilli beans to make a veggie chilli-that's good in pancakes with cheese sauce too.I also make individual quiches usually with mushrooms.

There's a good recipe for cheese flavoured choux buns filled with mushrooms in Delia Smith's christamas book. The buns and filling both freeze but freeze them separately. Delia says the recipe serves two but I get three portions from it.

DD was at Durham so while she was in hall all her meals were provided even lunch. The menus seemed a bit limited so I used to send her back with a large pot of vitamins and minerals. One term she used them as poker chips and lost the lot!